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The Computer Science Department at BYU is certainly under-par. Reasons are many, but please take my advice and that of so many others now stuck here, choose a different school if you are pursuing Computer Science.

BYU is unlike other universities. I am a transferred to BYU from Pima Community College several years ago and am now studying in the accounting undergraduate program. I have found that other reviews are perhaps outdated and/or inaccurate. For sure BYU is unlike other universities as it is a private university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those who are not members of the church will find that the church has a very strong presence on campus. Some non-member students enjoy this some do not - to each their own.

As far as accounting goes, BYU is one of the best colleges in the nation to study accounting. The quality of the faculty and courses is superb. Their many opportunities for internships and employment all around the world. Provo was recently named the most business friendly city in the U.S., so opportunities for experience locally are abundant. As far as reputation goes, BYU is recruited by and has a strong reputation among all big four firms as well as many fortune 50 firms.

The accounting program is grueling and hard, do not expect an easy way through. The group work provides real world experiences and helps to prepare students for their careers. Job placement is near 100 percent, better than most any other undergraduate and graduate program in the country.

It is true that some students and even perhaps faculty are a little closed minded as they live in somewhat of a bubble. It has been my experience that this is pretty much true any where, however, perhaps more evident at BYU because of the religious influence. As for the surrounding area. Some complain about Provo, sure it is not New York City. If you are active in the outdoors though there is no better place. There are hundreds of mountain biking trails within biking distance of campus. There is world class rock climbing 3 minutes away up Provo canyon. There are endless miles of wilderness to camp and hike. There are excellent urban trails for long boarding and running. There is a strong cycling community and lots of racing. There is a local water park and for anything more urbana Salt Lake is only 30 min. away. Park City is also close by with the best snow on earth. When folks say Provo is boring, all I can think is that those people must be pretty boring themselves.

I am just going to step right in and say that I came to BYU as a Mormon and left as an Atheist. This was 100% due to my own research and by no offense toward me by any student or faculty member. I simply learned through the course of my studies that humankind is capable of anything without God and that a belief in the supernatural begins with a belief in the superiority of others.

Now to my actual review of the university, BYU is great! My favorite part of the BYU experience was the fact that the people I worked with on a daily basis were very diligent and hardworking. There was not much unfriendly competition and the friendships I made at BYU enriched me as a person. The faculty were very approachable, many had an "open-door" policy and were willing to drop what they were doing to discuss anything, even personal problems. Oftentimes I could get to the professor easier than I could get to the TA.

The campus is beautiful. The grounds are well maintained and graffiti/gum/garbage is removed very quickly by the ground crew. I worked as a custodian for several months and the attitude is that people from all over the world see our campus and we need to make sure they see only the best. This added to the overall feeling of the campus and made me feel safe at anytime of the day or night (especially when walking home from late night project work).

The equipment is all very new and very up to date. I have gotten experience with hardware that I am now using in industry. The lab facilities were nice and well maintained. Undergraduate research is big at BYU which means that the nice equipment is not just reserved for graduate students. I was working on undergraduate research from my junior year and the experience I got was amazing.The only problems I can see with the campus is that a small portion of the population is very "Utah Mormon". For those who haven't heard this term before, it basically means very close-minded Mormons that don't just follow Mormonism but some kind of super-Mormonism. They are extremely concerned about getting married at BYU which made dating very difficult. It was like a job interview for all eternity. The religion classes (16 credits are required) were mostly taught by these "Utah Mormons" and oftentimes the lessons were very intolerant of individualism and free thought. This is my main complaint of the university.